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Erik Oostra

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  1. Thank you for the mighty effort Geoff.. I forgot you're the brains behind these kmz map overlays.. I always use your overlays with Google Earth together with topo and geo maps whenever I'm researching new areas.. They're a fantastic tool to have in the research toolbox.. Ozzy prospectors are very lucky you made them available for free.. Bloody shame some arsehole trying to flog off the fruits of your hard work.. Have you got any kmz map overlays showing where to find gold sovereigns? 😁
  2. Another good way to work out where gold can be found is by researching where old and new gold mines are located.. I've used the Google Earth kmz map overlays with the gps location of every gold mine in Australia.. I think it was Geoff on this forum who first put me onto them.. Most of these mines are underground but by using kmz overlays together with geological maps you can get a fair idea of what rock types and landscapes are associated with gold.. For mines digging alluvial gold these overlays and geomaps can help you work out which river or creek systems feed into or out off them.. Not all of these are obvious, for example, some ancient dry creekbeds in my area appear as vague fingers spread across a plain but they were once rivers flowing into a delta.. Save your $500, all this useful info for the price of some online research and a lot of help from some very knowledgeable folk on this forum..
  3. Here's two CTXs on eBay right now for under $2000.. that 17x13'' coil sure looks tempting..
  4. You'll probably turn out right Phrunt, we'll have Minelab and Coiltek scrambling all over their workshops to dust-off their plans for a large elliptical Nox coil (whatever size that might be).. I've edited this post because I just saw your above explaining why Minelab's not keen on a 17x13'' coil for the Nox.. In the meantime, I'll give the 18'' a go (when I get it) at a few spots where the round 15'' has sniffed out small silver coins at 40-50 cm deep in wet salty coral sand.. If the 18'' coil can find coins deeper than that I'll be truly impressed.. For me, that would be a hell of a Max Depth for the Equinox.. And yeah, I'll find some clown and hit him up for his CTX or maybe swap it for the Deus II.. 😁
  5. Good point Chase.. I've had a look at some other 17'' plus size coils for VLF detectors (photos in another post) and most are elliptical (22x19'' - 21x17'' - 18x15'' - 17x15'' - 17x13'').. Minelab are all tooled up to make 17x13'' coils for the CTX so I've always hoped they'd come up with one for the Equinox as well, especially now the Nox 700/900 and the X-Terra Pro have been released.. This 18'' Coiltek coil somewhat breaches the gap, sure it's a mega jump up from a round 15'' but I hope that on my coral sand beaches and mild soils it'll give me a bit more depth on old silver coins.. I also like the coverage of big coils for long stretches of beach when the tide is chasing me back up, just to be sure I don't miss anything.. Here the fact that the target will move again after the tides come through means that coverage is more important than depth.. But yeah, still wish Minelab had got there before with a Nox 17x13'' coil before Coiltek plugged that hole in the market with a round 18'' coil..
  6. That was my thought too, some of these big coils have been around for years.. Someone out there must have used one.. It would be good to get feedback from users especially those who hunt coins and jewellery.. I'm thinking about buying the 18'' Coiltek as I'm very impressed with their 15'' coil.. On my beaches, picnic areas and sport fields the 15'' coil has been great for both depth and coverage.. I hope that the 18'' can punch even deeper.. Saying that, I must point out that there's not much black sand on the island and its soils are mild and sandy.. If Coiltek ever had to prove that the 18'' coil punches 30% deeper on coins then this would be the place to do it.. 😁
  7. A recent post about Coiltek releasing a new 18'' coil for the Equinox series sparked an online search to find out who else makes big (17'' plus) coils for VLF detectors.. Here's some them.. Nokta Invenio 22x19'' Detech SEF Pro 21×17″ Detech SEF 18x15'' Detech Excelerator 18″ Coiltek 18'' Nel Big 17x15'' Cors Giant 17x15'' Minelab CTX 17x13''
  8. Spot on Cudamark.. I like Coiltek coils for the same reasons.. I'm not counting on some miracle VLF coil that works outside the laws of physics but Coiltek wouldn't have bothered if they didn't think it would work.. On milder soils or beaches without much black sand an 18'' coil will be another very handy tool in the toolbox.. This is also another reason why I'm sticking to my Noxes (600/800), it's great having a huge range of coils available for my favourite detectors.. At least as far as Nox coils go, I'm glad Minelab let Coiltek into the fold.. My Deus II sits on the shelf most of the time (unless it's underwater) because it's way outgunned by the choice of coils I can use with the Nox.. I also like a full toolbox.. The 18'' coil weighs just over a kilo (1050 grams), the Coiltek 15'' weighs 836g, the Minelab 15''x12'' weighs 660g and the Coiltek 14''x9'' weighs a whopping 790g.. So the 18'' coil will feel a bit heavier to swing but it'll be worth it for the extra coverage.. not necessarily covering a large stretch of beach any faster but far more thoroughly.. And an evenly-balanced kilo is not really that heavy when you're swinging over smooth sandy beaches, lawn picnic areas or sport fields, compared to in the bush where these big 'spoke' coils get caught up in tussocks and shrubbery.. On some of my beaches and dry creek beds I run the ML15x12 and CT15 on single frequency (4 or 5 kHz) to hunt old silver coins, in comparison I've found that the CT15 sniffs out deeper and smaller coins than the ML15x12.. If I can etch out another two or three inches with this big coil using these frequencies I'll be a happy fella..
  9. Nice one Coiltek! That's almost the coil of my dreams.. On my beaches I reckon a bigger coil can hit targets just out of reach of the 15''.. I'm thinking deep silver coins which I normally have to wait for huge tides to move layers of sand before I can get to them.. Also at low tides at the back of some bays it could be good for coins and silver jewellery.. When it gets released I'll definitely buy one.. I'm not going to crow on about game-changer or anything like that but I've got a feeling that I've been missing out on deep silver which I can probably get to with this 18'' coil.. Also the Coiltek 15'' is already a deep monster on my beaches.. and their little wading coil (14''x9'') is also a ripper.. Coiltek looks after beach hunters.. 😁
  10. Good man.. It can and does pay off to dig everything, even those TIDs and tones we know deep down are probably crap.. Most of the gold rings I've found on the island have rung up in the range of pull-tabs, aluminium foil, condom packaging, bottle tops or 5 and 10 cent pieces (10 to 14 on the Nox 600/800).. Hats off for having a good go, I get too lazy to dig sometimes, even though I'm digging sand! ☹️
  11. For me it's the ProFind 35 or PulseDive.. Mainly because they both vibrate, this saves having to take off your headphones to use them (which gets annoying after a while).. Also, I'm hard of hearing and I can't hear the beeping on pinpointers.. The PulseDive also comes with small coils turning it into a small handheld detector.. and its waterproof down to 60 metres.. Does the Carrot vibrate?
  12. I'm hoping Er 61 means: 'You've got water in my screen numbnuts, just put me in the hot sun for a couple of days and all will be good'.. 😁 I'm pretty sure it doesn't but I'll give it another day, the puddle is definitely shrinking.. I'd be more worried if it was one of my main detectors, it's just annoying when a back-up fails.. But if it doesn't come good I'll definitely send it back, you're spot on: Minelab deserves to be punished for dodgy products.. Have you read anywhere what those error numbers actually mean? It seems dumb of Minelab to bother displaying error numbers when they don't explain anywhere what these numbers stand for.. Do Minelab just pluck them out of the air or maybe its more Top Secret information?
  13. A few days ago my newest Nox 600 got flooded, nothing too serious just water in between the layers of the screen, like a little puddle.. It didn't have a plastic screen protector but I can't see how that would explain water getting inside the screen.. The bigger problem is when I turn the detector on now it shows: Er 61.. What does this number mean? I've tried to find out about Equinox error codes online and came across a few posts mentioning Errors 41 and 11 but nothing on what these numbers actually mean.. I've had this Nox for about a year as a back-up to my other Noxes (600 and 800).. I figured it was coming off light-duties and took it for a waist-deep wade, no real submersion except in the surf a couple off times.. I was surprised that the newest Nox flooded on it's first dunking when the other two haven't leaked in the 4 years since I've had them.. It's true that the Deus II and PulseDive now take the brunt of the underwater work but my Noxes will always be the star of the show from chest-deep to dry sand.. Over the last two days I've had the flooded Nox standing outside in the full sun.. I've got one of those velvety-feeling sunglass protector bags over the screen to stop it from going black.. The good news is that the puddle is getting smaller, I can still see the 'high-tide' mark where there's salt left behind.. The bad news is that Er 61 still shows up when I turn it on.. I'll leave it for another day of sunbaking, maybe when the puddle is gone it'll work again? In the meantime, can anyone help me out with those error codes? Thank you very much!
  14. Yeah, major dilemma.. My lucky streaks always come to a grinding halt whenever I post about them.. Still, hope yours holds for a while longer.. Nice haul..
  15. This morning I received a call out for my ring and jewellery recovery service.. A German backpacker had lost her 'very important' bracelet, could I come and find it? Unfortunately she'd send her plea for help whilst on the ferry leaving the island, but she did send a map of where she'd been sitting and a picture of the bracelet.. This would've been just another call out if my son hadn't been on the island for a holiday, and he was mighty keen to have a looksee.. I told him since the bracelet had a 'silver pearl' on it he could expect the Nox to sound off pretty hard, somewhere in the 20s.. Also it was newly dropped in dry sand so don't bother digging too deep.. Armed with a big coil Nox for both of us, we set up a grid where we crossed each others paths to make sure every inch was covered.. At one stage I told him to stop digging every thing and just concentrate on finding silver.. But I'm glad he ignored his old man because he found the bracelet.. You'll never guess what the Nox's target ID read.. Yeah you're right, 13.. The same target ID I'd told him was always gonna be junk.. In my defence the 'silver pearl' was the tiniest blob of silver I've ever come across, never mind about the other 'black pearls', the bracelet looked nothing like the one in the picture.. But like most trashy and cheap looking jewellery, this nasty, fishing wire-tied, plastic pearl wonder meant a lot to the owner.. Happy days all round.. 🙂
  16. Thank you.. It's feast or famine here at the moment.. I'm still on the hunt for my goldy, it's gotta be out there somewhere.. 🙂
  17. Here's a good read about a very lucky dude.. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-derbyshire-66386477
  18. Crusty is still getting around, albeit a bit slower these days.. He's ditched his bike for a walking stick.. Let me know when you're on the island, it'd be great to meet you.. I won't hunt Alma Bay for a while before you come, give you a chance with the PulseDive.. If you don't have any luck you're welcome to help yourself to my Equinoxes or Deus II.. 🙂
  19. Yes, the 8'' coil is the one I wish punched a bit deeper, but that's using the PulseDive as a scuba detector.. In saltwater it struggles to hit a small gold ring at an inch, coins are a bit better ($1 and 50 cents up to 3'').. I still like the 8'' coil though for freshly dropped rings and coins in tight spots amongst submerged rocks or in cervices.. For beach detecting I like the PulseDive just as a pinpointer (without a coil).. I've found it punches deeper and is far more stable in wet sand than my ML Pro-Find 35 (which I can only use with its sensitivity dialled right down).. I also like the removable cap on the tip which can be replaced without having to buy another pinpointer/detector.. As a pinpointer it might be a bit chunky but I've found it a hard-wearing tool just right for the job.. I've never tried the 8'' coil on dry land or on mellow soils.. or even in fresh water.. You'll probably find it a different beast all together.. 🙂
  20. Keep the new coil's O-ring lubed up with silicon grease.. you'll get years of use out of it.. My coil was also very stiff to take off when I first got it, keeping the grease on slides it off without stressing the plastic part.. I use the silicon grease used for scuba gear.. It's a bit off a pain in the arse but if you use the PulseDive a lot it's worth the effort.. 🙂 It's been a handy tool not just for snorkelling/diving but also for wading in waist-deep water in places where it's hard to swing a detector.. I only wish it punched a bit deeper.. In my experience it's only been good for recently lost rings or coins which haven't been buried too deep yet..
  21. I tried detecting a front strip of a street in Townsville.. Since the houses were all run down and shabby looking, I figured it wouldn't be a problem.. I couldn't have been more wrong.. In front of the third house the owner came out and wanted to know what I was up to.. He pointed at the few holes I'd already dug and said I'd ruined the look of the place.. I was tempted to say it couldn't look any worse but realised that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.. What looked like a neglected front strip to me represented years of watering weeds and mowing to him.. When I showed him how I'd filled my holes and barely left a trace he became a bit more interested and wanted to know what I'd found.. Here my case totally collapsed as all I could show him was a few bottle tops and a rusty key.. It's also gone the other way with home owners keen for me to have a look.. I was asked by an elderly couple to search an empty lot before a house was build on it.. The land was owned by the lady's family and it had been sold.. I found an old lead toy (motorbike with rider) and a few pennies and six-pence dating back to the early 1920s.. They were very happy with these small pieces of family history.. Whilst I was there the neighbour over the fence also asked me to have a look at his block of land.. I also found a few bits of silver from the same era there.. In short, I'd recommend asking permission regardless of how crappy the front strip might look to you.. If you can show some good finds from the same neighbourhood you stand a better chance of convincing people that digging up 'their' land is a great idea..
  22. Maybe the dog ate the jewellery? You could hypnotise it to find out.. Seriously though, I hope you find the stash.. I'm also forever forgetting where I've put things, often finding them in places I've looked a million times before.. Good luck..
  23. "Lawyers for four men, who admitted stealing "gold dust" during a midnight raid at a mine site in Western Australia's Goldfields, have described their clients' bungled heist as an "unsophisticated attempt" and a "stupid idea". https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-26/four-men-fined-over-theft-of-gold-dust-from-kalgoorlie-mine-site/102525570
  24. That's a very good idea Jeff, I might have to nick it.. Being hard of hearing, I'll use any info I can get to identify iffy targets, even if it's just splotches or dots on a screen.. If used together with other info like target sound, target ID numbers, ferrous/non-ferrous ID, depth of target per gauge and past experience, you'll get a good idea of what it is.. If not, dig it and find out.. Tuck away what you've learned and use the info for the next iffy target.. 🙂 As you noted, going hunting is a better way to learn about a detector than bitching about it online..
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